Woodland Creation Included in UK's Low Carbon Transition Strategy

The UK has released its Low Carbon Transition Plan. The Plan plots out how the UK will meet the cut in emissions set out in the budget of 34% on 1990 levels by 2020.

The Plan includes strategies for reducing emissions from agriculture and waste as well a strategy for "protecting, managing and growing our forests." This latter strategy is actually focused solely on an initiative to support the creation of new woodlands. Here is an excerpt:

Protecting, managing, and growing our forests
In 2007, forests in England removed a net total of about 2.9 million tonnes of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. This removal rate is declining, as forests planted in the 1950s to 1980s reach maturity. If woodland creation and removal continue at their 2007 rates, it will drop to around half a million tonnes per year by 2020, and if woodland creation stops entirely it will fall to only a hundred thousand tonnes.

Woodland creation is a very cost-effective way of fighting climate change over the long term, but it requires an upfront investment. The Government is already doing this: woodland creation represents 60% of the grant aid administered by the Forestry Commission. But to realise the potential for 2050, we need to see a big increase in woodland creation – and we need to plant sooner rather than later.

The Government will support a new drive to encourage private funding for woodland creation. If we could create an additional 10,000 hectares of woodland per year for 15 years, those growing trees could remove up to 50 million tonnes of carbon dioxide between now and 2050. Well-targeted woodland creation can also bring other benefits, including a recreational resource, employment opportunities, flood alleviation, improvements in water quality, and helping to adapt our landscapes to climate change by linking habitats to support wildlife. The Government will ensure that woodland creation policies continue to respect the benefits and demands of landscape, biodiversity and food security.

This will allow businesses and individuals to help the UK meet its carbon budgets, whilst delivering the other benefits that woodlands can bring. A number of informal schemes already exist, and the Government will work with them and with the private sector to consider how it can build on and complement existing initiatives. The Government is already laying the groundwork: including through the consultation on a Code of Good Practice for Forest Carbon Projects led by the Forestry Commission, and the Government consultation on corporate carbon reporting guidelines, which sets out how funding for domestic emissions reduction projects can be reported in company accounts.
Reference: The UK Low Carbon Transition Plan: National strategy for climate and energy. Chapter 7: Transforming farming and managing our land and waste sustainably. Page 160-161.

It's interesting that there is nothing in the plan for forest protection or management... perhaps this reflects the fact that only 7% of England is forested? (ref)

Breaking story - watch this footage on bioenergy clearcuts

Perhaps not good form to do to blog posts in a day, but you should watch this news story before it comes down this evening: this is the first publicized example of the impact that a bioenergy market will have on Canadian forests, this time in Nova Scotia. Watch the CBC news for July 8 2009 starting at 34:09.

U.S. Defines Forest and Agriculture Carbon Offset Projects

The American Clean Energy and Secrurity Act recently approved by the U.S. House of Representatives provides an initial list of offset project types that would be eligible to sell credits into the cap-and-trade system.

It seems a rather broad list designed to encompass all activities. Rules are to be set by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Section 503. List of Eligible Domestic Agricultural and Forestry Offset Practice Types.

“…(b) INITIAL LIST.—At a minimum, the list prepared under this section shall include those practices that avoid or reduce greenhouse gas emissions or sequester greenhouse gases, such as—

1. agricultural, grassland, and rangeland sequestration and management practices, including

a) altered tillage practices;

b) winter cover cropping, continuous cropping, and other means to increase biomass returned to soil in lieu of planting followed by fallowing;

c) reduction of nitrogen fertilizer use or increase in nitrogen use efficiency;

d) reduction in the frequency and duration of flooding of rice paddies;

e) reduction in carbon emissions from organic soils;

f) reduction in greenhouse gas emissions from manure and effluent; and

g) reduction in greenhouse gas emissions due to changes in animal management practices, including dietary modifications;

2. (2) changes in carbon stocks attributed to land-use change and forestry activities, including—

a) afforestation or reforestation of acreage that is not forested;

b) forest management resulting in an increase in forest carbon stores including but not limited to harvested wood products;

c) management of peatland or wetland;

d) conservation of grassland and forested land;

e) improved forest management, including accounting for carbon stored in wood products;

f) reduced deforestation or avoided forest conversion;

g) urban tree-planting and maintenance;

h) agroforestry; and

i) adaptation of plant traits or new technologies that increase sequestration by forests; and

1. (3) manure management and disposal, including—

a) waste aeration;

b) biogas capture and combustion; and

c) application to fields as a substitute for commercial fertilizer.”

American Clean Energy And Security Act of 2009. AMENDMENT TO H.R. 2454, AS REPORTED OFFERED BY MR. PETERSON OF MINNESOTA (Page and line numbers refer to the file ACESFLl001 (HR 2998) on the Rules Committee website). Pages 15 – 17.

British Columbia Sets Very Low Standard for Forest Carbon Offsets

The government of British Columbia in Canada has just released a draft forest carbon offset protocol for use in the province. The scope of eligibile activities is surprising and troubling:

• Afforestation: increasing the size and number of BC forests by planting land that has not been forested since December 31, 1989;
• Select Seed Use: planting seedlings selected for specific traits to promote faster growth, increased timber volume and carbon content, and resistance to insects and disease; and
• Fertilization: adding nutrients to increase tree growth on sites deficient in one or more soil nutrients.

Afforestation is fine, but the other two activities will not yield benefits in the short-term and fertilization in particular will have negative environmental outcomes. Conspicuously absent are any forest management activities with environmental co-benefits. What about forest protection? What about lengthened rotation ages?

Also conspicuously absent is any test of the impact of projects on other environmental social values.

This protocol is out for comment until July 10. Please send in your comments!

Dealing with impermanence of forest carbon offsets

The Canadian government released new draft details about the proposed federal offset system a couple of weeks ago. The guide includes the government's current thinking on how to deal with the impermanence of forest carbon offsets. Here it is:

"Biological sink projects carry a risk of carbon reversals, in which the sequestered carbon is released back into the atmosphere; for example, through forest fires or intentionally changing farm management practices. Since an offset credit must represent a permanent removal of carbon from the atmosphere, there must be a mechanism in place to address this risk of reversals.

The permanence of biological sink offset credits is ensured in the Offset System by requiring the replacement of credits in the event of a reversal anytime throughout the project’s registration periods and for a further 25-year liability period after the project’s final reporting period in its final registration period.

Furthermore, to address the risk that a Project Proponent may not be able to replace the credits when a reversal occurs, the Project Proponent is required to apply a discount factor to offset credits claimed for biological sink projects. The discount factor will be specified in the Offset System Quantification Protocol and will reflect the risk of defaulting on a replacement obligation for different project types. The Project Proponent will be required to replace credits if a reversal occurs any time during a 25-year liability period. Project Proponents are required to provide evidence to the Minister on a regular basis during the liability period and provide a certification statement that the sink has been maintained. However, verifications will not be necessary during the liability period." Page 27

My understanding is that the current draft of the Waxman-Markey Bill in the U.S. proposes instead to deal with impermanence through a 'buffer reserve' approach, which would set aside a percentage of each forest carbon offset...if the carbon is reversal is unintentionally, 50% could be covered by this reserve. I'm not sure what the liability period is.

Both these approaches differ from that used for afforestation projects within the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM), which only issues temporary credits for forest projects. This seems the most robust approach, but it doesn't appear to be taken very seriously in any of the offset regimes that are under development... apparently because people doubt the market demand for temporary offsets.

Anybody know of any other approaches being considered out there?

Using cap-and-trade auction revenue to finance forest and peatland protection

I posted a few days ago about a piece of legislation in the U.S. that aims to use government funds (from cap-and-trade auction revenues?) to finance the protection of forest carbon stocks.

What are other jurisdictions thinking about this? I'm reminded that the Western Climate Initiative Partners actually made a very concrete recommendation about using auction revenue set asides for 'forestry':

8.2. The WCI Partner jurisdictions agree that a portion of the value represented by each WCI Partner jurisdiction’s allowance budget (for example, through set-asides of allowances, a distribution of revenues from the auctioning of allowances, or other means) will be dedicated to one or more of the following public purposes which are expected to provide benefits region wide:

• Energy efficiency and renewable energy incentives and achievement;
• Research, development, demonstrations, and deployment (RDD&D) with particular reference to carbon capture & sequestration (CCS); renewable energy generation, transmission and storage; and energy efficiency;
• Promoting emission reductions and sequestration in agriculture, forestry and other uncapped sources; and
• Human and natural community adaptation to climate change impacts.

A couple of other examples...

1. The Province of Ontario's discussion paper on cap-and-trade references WCI's recommendation to use set asides to reduce emissions in uncapped sectors.
2. The EU Emission Trading Directive very strongly supports the use of at least 50% of auction revenues (and they intend auctioning to be the rule for distribution of allowances) for various uses aimed at reducing the impacts of climate change and funding adaptation. It also specifically mentions reducing emissions from deforestation and degradation in developing countries, but does not specifically mention domestic forest programs.

It strikes me that the forest sector, especially forest protection, is an especially good fit for the use of set-asides:

• The sector is not covered by the cap;
• There are adaptation benefits as well as mitigation benefits (helping communities and biodiversity adapt to climate change through ecosystem protection);
• Forest offsets present problems, like permanence, that other sectors don't present - so it should be a priority to get at this mitigation in another way.

What do others think? Does anyone have examples from other jurisdictions?

Watching U.S. Climate Bills - Money to Forest Carbon Protection

The American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009 (The 'Waxman-Markey bill' (summary)) includes provisions to use 13% of money from allowance auction revenues to support additional investments in clean energy and energy efficiency. Although protecting forest carbon isn't included in this list, a parallel piece of legislation attempts to fix this: The Buy American Carbon Incentives Program of 2009. The aim of this bill is "to establish a carbon incentives program to achieve supplemental greenhouse gas emissions reductions on private agricultural and forestland of the United States, and for other purposes."

Funds would be delivered through climate mitigation contracts for activities that:

• "measurably increase carbon sequestration and storage over a designated contract period through management activities on eligible lands; and
• maintain carbon sequestration and storage and avoid future emissions through permanent avoided conversion agreements on eligible lands."

This scheme is complementary to offsets and projects/activities would not be eligible for both.

Any thoughts on this? Has this kind of thing been proposed in any other jurisdictions? I certainly think it would be a great policy option for Canada's federal and provincial governments: finance forest carbon protection through the use of auction revenue set asides from cap-and-trade systems.